[nfsv4] Re: Our different approaches to draft POSIX ACL support in NFSv4

[David Noveck <[e-mail]>]

On Wed, Jul 24, 2024 at 10:59 AM Chuck Lever III <[e-mail]>
wrote:

> Hi -
>
> > On Jul 24, 2024, at 8:43 AM, David Noveck <[e-mail]> wrote:
> >
> > Rick has discussed the possibility of a v4.2 extension but using new
> attributes has not committed to writing it up.   I'm worried that he might
> lose interest given the possibility of IP horrors, but I really don't know.
> From my point of view, the weakness in Rick's approach is that it does not
> address migration and coexistence issues.  I think that is essential given
> the history here but many files with ACLs exist on file systems and I think
> it's important to address the issues of how the existing model and a new
> one will interact.
>
> Hence my concern about how POSIX ACLs might appear to clients
> that access them via NFSv3's NFSACL versus how they might
> appear to clients that access them via a putative NFSv4 POSIX
> ACL facility. NFSv3 remains a widely-deployed protocol and I
> believe users would be surprised if there were compatibility
> issues.
>

I think they would be upset, with good reason.

>
> If there are no issues here, great! If there are, IMO new
> documents should help implementers and users understand and
> cope with any differences.
>
> Given that you believe "it's important to address the issues
> of how the existing model and the new one interact"


I assume that, by the "existing model" you mean use of draft POSIX ACLs
established either using the NFSACL sideband protocol to local APIs
designed to set and interrogate that sort of ACLs.

I am also interested in the case in which the "existing model" is the use
of NFsv4 ACLs which might or might not be fit with the draft POSIX ACL
model.

Nevertheless, both are important and I intend to address both.

I hope
> you will provide some guidance in this area in acls-0?


I intend to that in an expanded Appendix C  in acls-05.  I hope to have
this out in early August.

or
> follow-on documents. :-)
>

It is not clear yet who will write those  documents.  Whenever work on that
starts, the material in the expanded Appendix will be available as a base,
and I expect to be available to help.


>
> --
> Chuck Lever
>
>
>